Managing encounters with persons

ABSTRACT

Techniques are disclosed for facilitating coordination of user activities in accordance with information processing systems and, more particularly, to techniques for managing encounters with persons using such information processing systems. For example, a method for facilitating user coordination of one or more activities comprises the following steps. User personal preference input for managing an encounter with at least one other person is accepted. Input of at least one user schedule entry is received. Schedule entries of the at least one other person are evaluated and it is automatically determined whether there is an overlap between the at least one user schedule entry and the schedule entries of the at least one other person. A response to a determined overlap is automatically determined. The user personal preference input may comprise an indication of whether the user wishes to avoid an encounter with the at least one other person or coordinate an encounter with the at least one other person.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to facilitation of coordinationof user activities in accordance with information processing systemsand, more particularly, to techniques for managing encounters withpersons using such information processing systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

People often go to areas or meetings that they would prefer to keepprivate, or at least private to a subset of people. These can include,by way of example only, visits to particular doctors, or interviews forparticular jobs. As these events are currently managed, there is nomechanism to coordinate a person's appointments with any other person'sappointments. This can result in awkward moments, whereby an individual“runs into” a colleague, boss, or friend when visiting a doctor, forexample, for treatments that the individual would prefer not to beshared with those persons.

Note that, on the other hand, people may also relish the opportunity tocoordinate visits to appointments with friends that use the sameservice. For example, an individual might opt to schedule a dentistappointment at the same time that a friend will be visiting that samepractice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Principles of the invention provide techniques for facilitatingcoordination of user activities in accordance with informationprocessing systems and, more particularly, to techniques for managingencounters with persons using such information processing systems.

For example, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, a methodfor facilitating user coordination of one or more activities comprisesthe following steps. User personal preference input for managing anencounter with at least one other person is accepted. Input of at leastone user schedule entry is received. Schedule entries of the at leastone other person are evaluated and it is automatically determinedwhether there is an overlap between the at least one user schedule entryand the schedule entries of the at least one other person. A response toa determined overlap is automatically determined.

The user personal preference input may comprise an indication of whetherthe user wishes to avoid an encounter with the at least one other personor coordinate an encounter with the at least one other person.

The method may further comprise a step of assigning one or more weightsindicating a strength of preference to avoid or coordinate an encounterwith the at least one other person. Further, the method may furthercomprise selectively adjusting the one or more weights so as to increaseor decrease the possibility of an occurrence of the encounter.

The automatically generated response to a determined overlap maycomprise notifying at least one of the user and the at least one otherperson of the determined overlap. The automatically generated responseto a determined overlap may further comprise automatically suggesting analternative user schedule entry.

The encounter may comprise a schedule-based activity, by way of exampleonly, one or more of an appointment, a reservation, and a meeting.

The method may further comprise accepting information from a socialnetworking site when determining whether the overlap exists.

In one embodiment, the user and the at least one other person may berepresented by respective avatars in a virtual world such that theencounter being managed is between the avatars in the virtual world.

Other aspects of the invention comprise apparatus and articles ofmanufacture for implementing and/or realizing the above-described methodsteps.

These and other features, objects and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionof illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connectionwith the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an illustrative information processing system inwhich an encounter management method according to an embodiment of theinvention is implemented.

FIG. 2 illustrates management of a database according to an embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a methodology for encounter management according toan embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a computing system for implementing one or moresteps and/or components in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthe invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Principles of the present invention will be described herein in thecontext of management of appointments and meeting such as, by way ofexample, a medical appointment or a meeting at a restaurant. It is to beappreciated, however, that the principles of the present invention arenot limited to use in any particular appointment/meeting context butrather may be applied in accordance with any suitable schedulingenvironment where it is desirable to manage encounters with persons. Forthis reason, numerous modifications can be made to the embodiments shownthat are within the scope of the present invention. That is, nolimitations with respect to the specific embodiments described hereinare intended or should be inferred.

Illustrative embodiments of the invention provide mechanisms wherebyindividuals can more easily coordinate their activities, to increase thelikelihood of convergence with individuals that they prefer to meet oravoidance of individuals that they prefer not to meet.

It is realized that social networking tools such as Facebook™ (FacebookInc., Palo Alto, Calif.) MySpace™ (MySpace Inc., Los Angeles, Calif.),and Twitter™ (Twitter Inc., San Francisco, Calif.) enable people toindicate when they will be going to particular places. In addition, manypeople maintain online calendar tools that mark appointments and otherengagements. By “online,” it is generally meant that a person uses acomputing device (e.g., personal computer, laptop, personal digitalassistant, cell phones, smart phone, etc.) to access one or more othercomputing devices (e.g., servers) that host a particular application(e.g., social network tool, calendar tool, etc.). The computing devicesmay communicate over a public network (e.g., Internet), a privatenetwork, or some combination of both public and private networks.

It is also realized that global positioning system (GPS) trackers oncell phones or other computing devices can provide the location ofpeople within one's social network.

It is also realized that social networking tools also represent aperson's extended network of friends and acquaintances.

It is also realized that places where people make appointments (e.g.,doctors, dentists, hairdressers, restaurants, meetings, conferences,etc.) also have electronic mechanisms (e.g., Internet-based) to maintaincalendar information.

Accordingly, illustrative embodiments of the invention providetechniques for allowing individuals to mark in their social networkingtools whom they would or would not like to encounter (“run into”) atappointments to the doctor, dentist, etc. These can be marked as perindividual, or for an entire class such as, by way of example only,“exclude all work colleagues.” The marking may be done such that it isnot known to anyone other than the person doing the marking. However, inone embodiment, once the user's preferences are “marked,” the processesof person avoidance and person convergence are transparent to even theuser (e.g., the user's schedule gets automatically set or adjusted tosatisfy the avoidance/convergence preferences of the user). Of course,in another embodiment, the user is notified of the scheduling overlapand can accept or reject the proposed alteration to the schedule.

Accordingly, by way of example, when an appointment is made for thedoctor, dentist, conference, etc., the calendar tool of the professionallinks to the patient's Facebook page or calendar, e.g., Lotus Notes™(IBM Corporation, Armonk, N.Y.) or Google™ (Google Inc., Mountain View,Calif.) calendar, to determine whether there is overlap between thepatient's “do not meet” class and anyone who will be visiting the doctor(or other potential place of meeting) within that same time window.

In the event that there is overlap, the patient that has marked “do notmeet” can be notified and told that someone from their “do not meet”category is scheduled for the same time. Therefore, the appointment timecan be changed. This can be done either through explicit discussion; or,it can be done transparently whereby the patient is asked to change toanother time without being notified that there is overlap with someoneon their “do not meet” list.

To provide an extra management layer on top of Facebook or a calendarsystem, trackers on cell phones can also provide the immediate locationof people in one's social network, thereby “encouraging” or“discouraging” the user to visit certain places within a particular timespan. This may be performed in an anonymous fashion, so that noindividual's privacy is at risk. Also, this service may be offered as anopt-in service.

Often, the encounters that individuals have in their lives, both goodand bad, may have a profound impact on their lives; not only personallives, but also with respect to jobs, business projects, interactionswith managers and colleagues, etc Innovation in science, business, andtechnology has often been affected by both chance encounters and plannedencounters.

The method can be extended to all schedule-based activities, by way ofexample only, movies, restaurants, conferences, hotels.

Furthermore, in accordance with illustrative principles of theinvention, weights can be assigned indicating the strength of preferenceto meet or not to meet particular individuals in particular settings.For example, if a user very much wishes to increase or decrease thepossibility of a chance encounter, this may be used as a selectableweighting factor in an equation that optimizes such encounters. Forexample, let us consider a vector of factors X=[x1, x2, . . . , xn],where each xi is a factor which is used to determine if individualsshould be met in particular settings. Such examples of factors couldinclude location of appointment (e.g., doctor, conference, etc.),privacy of meeting, calendars of other individuals, etc. The user canassign weights wi to each of the xi factors. Thus, the overall score is

$S = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}{{wi} \times {{xi}.}}}$If this score S is above a user determined threshold, then the user candecide not to meet a particular individual. The inventive encountermanagement methods may also be extended to “virtual worlds” as well,whereby participants can opt to avoid spaces and gatherings whereanother entity, such as an avatar, is scheduled to participate. As isknown, a virtual world is an online community that often takes the formof a computer-based simulated environment, through which users caninteract with one another and use and create objects. Virtual worlds areintended for its users to inhabit and interact, and the phrase today hasbecome largely synonymous with interactive three dimensional virtualenvironments, where the users take the form of avatars visible to othersgraphically. These avatars are usually depicted as textual,two-dimensional, or three-dimensional graphical representations,although other forms are possible.

The inventive encounter management methods can also be extended toinclude “people that know people.” For example, individuals can ask tobe notified if anyone that knows “person X” (e.g., a CEO of a particularcompany) will be attending an event that they plan to attend. Thus, in aworld in which social networking, job searching, and both virtual andnon-virtual connections have evolved to play a key role in many people'slives, encounter management methods of the invention implemented in thegeneral space of social networking have not only the potential to have asignificant impact on the world but also to provide opportunities forrevenue to service providers.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, an illustrative information processingsystem is depicted in which an encounter management method according toan embodiment of the invention is implemented.

As shown in this illustrative embodiment, a network 100, such as theInternet, connects all elements, components and modules associated withthe system. For example, the Internet connects the system to medicaloffice 101 and to restaurant 102.

The user 110 schedules an appointment with the medical office 101 or areservation with the restaurant 102. It is assumed that the user is ableto schedule an appointment or reservation by going online to a websiteof the medical office or restaurant. When the user connects to thesesites, it is assumed that there is access to a profile of userpreferences. This profile may have been created at an earlier time orconcurrent with the making of the appointment. The user creates thisprofile through an online database (e.g., profile database 106), whereit can enter its preferences for meeting others in different possiblesocial encounters. This profile provides user priorities, such as whomthe user does not want to meet at the places that he/she will be going.This profile can be stored in user profile database 106. A profileconnected to medical office is denoted as 107.

Scheduler 103 for the medical office assigns the appointment to the userat a time when others on the “do not meet” list will not be present.Scheduler 103 gets information about whom the user does or does not wantto meet from database manager 108. That is, the medical office 101obtains profile 107 from database manager 108, which gets it fromprofile database 106. The database manager is connected through theInternet to social networks 109. Examples of social networks include,but are not limited to, Facebook 105 or LinkedIn 104.

FIG. 2 illustrates database management of relationships according to anembodiment of the invention. It is to be appreciated that the componentsin FIG. 2 represent the main components that comprise the databasemanager 108 in FIG. 1. Thus, as shown, database manager of relationships200 provides privacy controls 201. For example, the manager module makessure that information that is gotten from any social network is notexposed for any other purposes. In order to protect the user's privacy,the system can introduce some randomness to the process, so that it isnot possible to deduce the nature of the person's relationships. Thiscan be particularly important for famous people, where there might bemore curiosity about whom the person wants to meet or avoid. Legalprocessor 210 ensures that system works in accordance with privacy lawsin a given state or country.

Database manager 200 also has access to different formats of differentsocial networks via accessor 203. Content processor 202 determines fromsocial network tools who are “friends” of the user by determining thenature of different relationships and the level of “separation” from theuser. It is also possible to determine whether individuals know eachother if they have pictures on each other's social networking page.Output from the database manager 200 goes to database of relationships209.

FIG. 3 illustrates a methodology for encounter management according toan embodiment of the invention. In step 300, the user submits a requestfor appointment at website of professional, facility or business, e.g.,doctor, hairdresser, etc. It is to be understood that the appointmentcould be made audibly over the telephone and entered into the system bythe professional, facility or business.

The system determines whether the user has requested the servicescreening option for these appointments in step 301, i.e., does the userwish to implement encounter avoidance/convergence preferences. If not,then the system can schedule an appointment based on standardavailability criteria in step 302. If the user has requested the servicescreening option in step 301, the system determines which category ofscreening is required in step 303. That is, by way of example, the usermay specify to avoid overlapping appointments with others in thecategory of “family.”

The system then determines whether there is information available aboutwho else is scheduled to come to this office in step 304. If thisinformation is available, appointments are scheduled as per the user'srequested criteria in step 305. If information is unavailable, the useris notified and appointments are scheduled in “standard” way in step306.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, apparatus, method or computerprogram product. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may takethe form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely softwareembodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) oran embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

Referring again to FIGS. 1-3, the diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in aflowchart or a block diagram may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagram and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagram and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Accordingly, techniques of the invention, for example, as depicted inFIGS. 1-3, can also include, as described herein, providing a system,wherein the system includes distinct modules (e.g., modules comprisingsoftware, hardware or software and hardware). By way of example only,the modules may include, but are not limited to, a database managermodule, a user profile database module, one or more social networkmodules, a content processor module, a legal processor module, privacycontrol module, and one or more business-specific access module (e.g.,website of medical office, restaurant, etc.). These and other modulesmay be configured, for example, to perform the steps described andillustrated in the context of FIGS. 1-3.

One or more embodiments can make use of software running on a generalpurpose computer or workstation. With reference to FIG. 4, such animplementation 400 employs, for example, a processor 402, a memory 404,and an input/output interface foiiiied, for example, by a display 406and a keyboard 408. The term “processor” as used herein is intended toinclude any processing device, such as, for example, one that includes aCPU (central processing unit) and/or other forms of processingcircuitry. Further, the term “processor” may refer to more than oneindividual processor. The term “memory” is intended to include memoryassociated with a processor or CPU, such as, for example, RAM (randomaccess memory), ROM (read only memory), a fixed memory device (forexample, hard drive), a removable memory device (for example, diskette),a flash memory and the like. In addition, the phrase “input/outputinterface” as used herein, is intended to include, for example, one ormore mechanisms for inputting data to the processing unit (for example,keyboard or mouse), and one or more mechanisms for providing resultsassociated with the processing unit (for example, display or printer).

The processor 402, memory 404, and input/output interface such asdisplay 406 and keyboard 408 can be interconnected, for example, via bus410 as part of a data processing unit 412. Suitable interconnections,for example, via bus 410, can also be provided to a network interface414, such as a network card, which can be provided to interface with acomputer network, and to a media interface 416, such as a diskette orCD-ROM drive, which can be provided to interface with media 418.

A data processing system suitable for storing and/or executing programcode can include at least one processor 402 coupled directly orindirectly to memory elements 404 through a system bus 410. The memoryelements can include local memory employed during actual execution ofthe program code, bulk storage, and cache memories which providetemporary storage of at least some program code in order to reduce thenumber of times code must be retrieved from bulk storage duringexecution.

Input/output or I/O devices (including but not limited to keyboard 408,display 406, pointing device, and the like) can be coupled to the systemeither directly (such as via bus 410) or through intervening I/Ocontrollers (omitted for clarity).

Network adapters such as network interface 414 may also be coupled tothe system to enable the data processing system to become coupled toother data processing systems or remote printers or storage devicesthrough intervening private or public networks. Modems, cable modem andEthernet cards are just a few of the currently available types ofnetwork adapters.

As used herein, a “server” includes a physical data processing system(for example, system 412 as shown in FIG. 4) running a server program.It will be understood that such a physical server may or may not includea display and keyboard.

Thus, it is to be understood that the computing system architectureshown in FIG. 4 may represent: a computing device used by the user toaccess the system; a computing device operated by a social networkingsite; a computing device hosting a calendar system; a computing deviceimplementing a relationship database manager; a computing deviceimplementing a profile database; and a computing device hosting abusiness-specific application (e.g., medical office, restaurant, etc.).It is to be further understood that multiple ones of these functions canbe implemented on one computing device.

It will be appreciated and should be understood that the exemplaryembodiments of the invention described above can be implemented in anumber of different fashions. Given the teachings of the inventionprovided herein, one of ordinary skill in the related art will be ableto contemplate other implementations of the invention. Indeed, althoughillustrative embodiments of the present invention have been describedherein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to those preciseembodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may bemade by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope orspirit of the invention.

1. A method for facilitating user coordination of one or moreactivities, comprising steps of: accepting user personal preferenceinput for managing a physical encounter with at least one other personin a physical location; receiving input from said user of at least oneuser schedule entry indicating a scheduled activity of said user;obtaining schedule entries indicating scheduled activities of said atleast one other person; evaluating schedule entries of the at least oneother person and automatically determining whether there is an overlapbetween the at least one user schedule entry and the schedule entries ofthe at least one other person such that there is a possibility that theuser may physically encounter the at least one other person based on adetermined overlap; and automatically generating a response to thedetermined overlap based on said user personal preference, wherein thesteps of accepting, receiving, evaluating and generating are performedby a computer.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user personalpreference input comprises an indication of whether the user wishes toavoid an encounter with the at least one other person or coordinate anencounter with the at least one other person.
 3. The method of claim 2,further comprising a step of assigning one or more weights indicating astrength of preference to avoid or coordinate an encounter with the atleast one other person.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising astep of selectively adjusting the one or more weights so as to increaseor decrease the possibility of an occurrence of the encounter.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the automatically generated response to adetermined overlap comprises notifying at least one of the user and theat least one other person of the determined overlap.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the automatically generated response to a determinedoverlap comprises automatically suggesting an alternative user scheduleentry.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the encounter comprises aschedule-based activity.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein theschedule-based activity comprises one or more of an appointment, areservation, and a meeting.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprisinga step of accepting information from a social networking site whendetermining whether the overlap exists.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the user and the at least one other person are represented byrespective avatars in a virtual world such that the encounter beingmanaged is between the avatars in the virtual world.
 11. Apparatus forfacilitating user coordination of one or more activities, comprising: amemory; and one or more processor devices operatively coupled to thememory and configured to: accept user personal preference input formanaging a physical encounter with at least one other person in aphysical location; receive input from said user of at least one userschedule entry indicating a scheduled activity of said user; obtainschedule entries indicating scheduled activities of said at least oneother person; evaluate schedule entries of the at least one other personand automatically determining whether there is an overlap between the atleast one user schedule entry and the schedule entries of the at leastone other person such that there is a possibility that the user mayphysically encounter the at least one other person based on a determinedoverlap; and automatically generate a response to the determined overlapbased on said user personal preference.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11,wherein the user personal preference input comprises an indication ofwhether the user wishes to avoid an encounter with the at least oneother person or coordinate an encounter with the at least one otherperson.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the one or more processordevices are further configured to assign one or more weights indicatinga strength of preference to avoid or coordinate an encounter with the atleast one other person.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the oneor more processor devices are further configured to permit selectiveadjustment of the one or more weights so as to increase or decrease thepossibility of an occurrence of the encounter.
 15. The apparatus ofclaim 11, wherein the automatically generated response to a determinedoverlap comprises notifying at least one of the user and the at leastone other person of the determined overlap.
 16. The apparatus of claim11, wherein the automatically generated response to a determined overlapcomprises automatically suggesting an alternative user schedule entry.17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the encounter comprises aschedule-based activity.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein theschedule-based activity comprises one or more of an appointment, areservation, and a meeting.
 19. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein theone or more processor devices are further configured to acceptinformation from a social networking site when determining whether theoverlap exists.
 20. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the user and theat least one other person are represented by respective avatars in avirtual world such that the encounter being managed is between theavatars in the virtual world.
 21. An article of manufacture forfacilitating user coordination of one or more activities, the article ofmanufacture comprising a computer readable storage medium havingtangibly embodied thereon computer readable program code which, whenexecuted, causes a computer to: accept user personal preference inputfor managing a physical encounter with at least one other person in aphysical location; receive input from said user of at least one userschedule entry indicating a scheduled activity of said user; obtainschedule entries indicating scheduled activities of said at least oneother person; evaluate schedule entries of the at least one other personand automatically determining whether there is an overlap between the atleast one user schedule entry and the schedule entries of the at leastone other person such that there is a possibility that the user mayphysically encounter the at least one other person based on a determinedoverlap; and automatically generate a response to the determined overlapbased on said user personal preference.
 22. The article of claim 21,wherein the user personal preference input comprises an indication ofwhether the user wishes to avoid an encounter with the at least oneother person or coordinate an encounter with the at least one otherperson.
 23. The article of claim 22, wherein the computer readablestorage medium has tangibly embodied thereon computer readable programcode which, when executed, further causes the computer to assign one ormore weights indicating a strength of preference to avoid or coordinatean encounter with the at least one other person.
 24. The article ofclaim 23, wherein the computer readable storage medium has tangiblyembodied thereon computer readable program code which, when executed,further causes the computer to permit selective adjustment of the one ormore weights so as to increase or decrease the possibility of anoccurrence of the encounter.
 25. The article of claim 21, wherein theencounter comprises a schedule-based activity.